‘Noise’ is related to ‘Silence’ in the same way as ‘Light’ is related to ‘________’.

Correct — D.

Rule: the first pair are opposites of the absence kind — silence is what is left when noise is taken away.

Apply the same sentence to the second pair. What is left when light is taken away is darkness, so the blank takes option (d).

The word class agrees too. Noise, silence and light are nouns, and darkness is the noun formed from dark — an analogy answer has to sit in the same class as the words it is set beside.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Warmth — Warmth names heat, not the absence of light. Its own opposite would be coldness. Light and warmth arrive together in ordinary speech, which is exactly what makes this option tempting and wrong.
• (b)
  Radiant — Radiant is an adjective, while noise, silence and light are all nouns — and it means giving off light, so it is close to a synonym rather than an opposite.
• (c)
  Brightness — Brightness is a degree of light, not its absence. It stands on the same side of the pair as light itself, where the analogy needs the word that cancels light out.

A word analogy is solved by writing the first pair as a sentence, then reading the second pair into that same sentence. Guessing at the general feel of the words is what produces wrong answers.

Here the sentence is Silence is the absence of noise. Read into the second pair it becomes Darkness is the absence of light, which is true and exact.

Relations of this kind are not always opposites. The same frame carries near-synonyms as readily as opposites, so the relation has to be worked out from the given pair every time.

Key facts

• Noise and silence are antonyms: silence is the absence of sound.
• Darkness is the absence of light, which is the same relation the first pair carries.
• Three of the four options here are nouns and one, radiant, is an adjective, so word class alone removes it.

Common traps

• Choosing a word that merely feels connected to light instead of one that opposes it.
• Skipping the part-of-speech check, which removes radiant on sight.
• Reading the relation as cause and effect rather than as opposites.

No directly related past PYQ was found.